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Left Behind
Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days is a best-selling novel by Timothy LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins which starts the ''Left Behind'' series. Its narrative conforms to a specific eschatological reading of the Bible, particularly the Book of Revelation. See dispensationalism and premillennialism. Plot Introduction Millions of people suddenly vanish and frantic "survivors" of the disappearances begin their search for their friends and families as well as answers to what's happened. Among them are pilot Rayford Steele, his daughter Chloe Steele, and Bruce Barnes, who begin to discover that what has really happened is that the Rapture had occurred. Meanwhile, a young journalist, Cameron "Buck" Williams follows an unknown, but charming Romanian politician named Nicolae Carpathia, who quickly attracts millions of followers, seemingly overnight. Characters * Rayford Steele - 747 captain for Pan-Continental in his mid-forties. He is member, but non-attender at New Hope Village Church; Mount Prospect. * Chloe Steele, Rayford's daughter who is a student at Stanford University in her mid-twenties and skeptical of Christianity. She lost her mother and brother in the Rapture. Chloe resides in California. * Cameron "Buck" Williams - journalist and senior writer for Global Weekly from New York who authors the Newsmaker of the Year story on Chaim Rosenzweig. * Bruce Barnes - assistant pastor at New Hope Village Church in his mid-forties who must lead new congregation * Joshua Todd-Cothran - international financier, head of London Stock Exchange * Jonathan Stonagal - international financier and wealthiest man in history * Ken Ritz - charter pilot * Chaim Rosenzweig - Israeli botanist and statesman who discovers of a formula that makes Israeli deserts bloom; former Global Weekly Man of the Year. * Steve Plank - publisher of the Global Weekly; old school journalist; Cameron's boss. * Hattie Durham - flight attendant in her late twenties, works with Rayford at Pan-Continental. * Nicolae Jetty Carpathia - president of Romania in his mid-thirties who was invited to speak at the United Nations. * Stanton Bailey - publisher of Global Weekly. * Loretta Major themes Prophetic themes are explored in a fictional context around the theme of the "Rapture", an interpretation of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. Amongst Christians who believe there will be a Rapture, there are three main theories on the timing of this event: Pre-Tribulation, Mid-Tribulation, and Post-Tribulation. This book takes the Pre-Tribulation Rapture position. The story is built around such End times themes as the Second Coming, the Antichrist, the Tribulation, and the coming Millennium of Messiah. Reception This novel has received different reactions; however, the American evangelical christian community in general has approved the idea of representing in a worldly language the end times theology. Jerry Falwell said: "In terms of its impact on Christianity, it's probably greater than that of any other book in modern times, outside the Bible." There have been several good reviews from various media. The New York Times stated that it "...combines Tom Clancy like suspense with touches of romance, high tech flash and Biblical references". The Chicago Tribune called it "...an exciting, stay-up-late-into-the-night, page turner story". Publishers Weekly recognized Left Behind as "...the most successful Christian Fiction series ever." Film adaptation This book has been adapted into a feature film, Left Behind: The Movie, first released on video and DVD, and then to cinemas where it fared poorly. In the movie Cameron "Buck" Williams was played by former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron who said he finds the series inspiring; he is a practicing evangelist and co-host with Ray Comfort on the TV show The Way of the Master. So far there have been two sequels released straight to video. The first was named "Left Behind II: Tribulation Force". The most recent one, Left Behind: World at War, premiered in thousands of churches before its video and DVD release. In 2006, a fourth installment was announced by Cloud Ten Pictures and may resume development / production since there has been a July 16, 2008 settlement of a lawsuit over rights involving the first three films. The fourth film has now been scrapped by Cloud Ten. On August 2008, a website revealed that LaHaye plans to remake the series and possibly turn all twelve (or sixteen) novels into feature film adaptations. Release details * 1995, USA, Tyndale House ISBN 0-8423-2911-0, Pub. date 31 December 1995, Hardback * 1995, USA, Tyndale House ISBN 0-8423-1675-2, Pub. date ? December 1995, Audio Cassette * 1999, USA, Tyndale House ISBN 0-8423-2912-9, Pub. date ? February 1999, Paperback * 2000, USA, Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & Co ISBN 0-7862-2468-1, Pub. date ? September 2000, Large Print * 2000, UK, Tyndale House ISBN 0-8423-4270-2, Pub. date 30 September * 2005, USA, Tyndale House ISBN 0-4143-0540-0, Pub. date ? ? 2005, Paperback, 10th Anniversary Limited Edition External links *Left Behind:A Novel Of The Earth's Last Days from LeftBehind.com *Left Behind:A Novel Of The Earth's Last Days from Tyndale.com *First Chapter of Left Behind *The Left Behind Wiki Left Behind encyclopedia set up as a wiki that anyone can edit. Category:Left Behind